Dive Show 2018

In case you missed my Insta-spamming, this Sunday just gone was the Dive Show! It's something we'd had pencilled in the diary for a long time but never actually got round to organising, life am I right? But thankfully, a couple days before we were still able to get tickets and saw it as a sign! We had a look at the talks on the Sunday, as that was the day I had off, and were excited to see a talk on plastic pollution! So despite some last minute can I really be bothered? feelings, it was looking like it was worth attending after all.

The original plan was to get most of our gear from the Dive Show - snag some deals as we were buying two lots of expensive equipment. Well, we didn't need to do that anymore which is why I was wondering if it was worth us going. Thankfully, Chris convinced me and I am very glad he did. Because I had a very good time. We got lots of information about holidays, saw some talks, and got sooooo much swag. It was tote bag heaven.

The first of many tote bags.

THE TALKS

We attended three talks: whale sharks, plastic pollution, and Pristine Seas. We did want to attend one on ghost fishing too, but rumbling tummies and bumping into club members derailed that plan a little. But never mind. The talks we did attend were fascinating. 

The whale shark talk was run by the Marine Mega Fauna Foundation, a charity based in Mozambique and run by marine biologists who study the biggest of fish. Namely, whale sharks. We found out about their migration patterns, the demographics of the big groups in which they converge, and that there is so much that we still don't know about these magnificent beasts. I was happy just watching footage of them, whale sharks are such beautiful creatures. And! There is an albino one, only spotted once in the wild. But it's big, therefore been around for a while. 

We also learned of the website whaleshark.org. This is an online catalogue of encounters with whale sharks, including identification of the whale sharks. So if you were ever to spot one in the wild and take a picture, this website would be able to identify the whale shark, if previously encountered. To me, this seems like a brilliant way of utilising our penchant for documenting everything in photographs. It is a #lifegoal for me to add to that database.

We only managed to catch the tail end of the plastic talk - between all the stalls and not reading the programme right, we turned up late. We got there in time to watch the Q&A session. I was a little disappointed, but thinking back on it I probably knew all the scary facts about plastic they were going to throw at us so maybe we caught the best bit for us. People's questions were mostly about how we can make a big impact - someone suggested we take politicians diving so they can see the damage first hand.

One man missed the point a little and ranted about not demonising plastic. I wish I had been brave enough to counter him (and that I'd thought of a counter argument at the time). The panel replied with a stance on not demonising all plastics but more single-use plastics. While demonising is a strong word, I think a good approach would be to demonise the attitude that plastic is disposable. It is inherently hardy and has a long shelf life; we need to break the idea that it's one use only. Which I think is what the panel were putting across too.

The last talk we attended was hosted by Paul Rose, a diver and documentary maker. He works with the National Geographic and is currently working on a series called Pristine Seas. This is a series about the wild and untouched areas of our oceans. He and a group of scientists survey the areas, film, and document all the species which live in these abundant ecosystems. The footage was amazing. This will definitely be a series I will endeavour to follow. And he is back next year with updates, which will definitely be worth seeing!

Just before the whale shark talk.

THE STALLS

There were so many stalls. Most were selling holidays and destinations; but there were a number of equipment stalls and a few charity stalls. There were even two pools, which made me wish we'd brought swimming costumes. It was very stuffy and dehydrating in the NEC - a little soak in the pool would have been lovely. But alas. Instead we had lots of stalls to peruse and meander. We must have gone round at least five times.

Our purse strings were grateful that none of the gear was too tempting; having most of what we need helped. It's only really cylinders which we need now, and we didn't much fancy lugging them about. We avoided a lot of the holiday stalls too, as we weren't really shopping for those. I didn't much fancy aggressive sales pitches. 

I was delighted by the number of environment stalls there were. I got a little heart-eyes. The Marine Conservation Society were there, Shark Trust, Project Aware... Unfortunately, I got a little too anxious to actually go and speak to most of them. I don't do well in big crowds and closed in areas like that. I'm not a pushy person, I can't just muscle my way to the front of a crowd and be like talk to me! Mostly because I have no idea what to say. Or I'm too afraid to say, can I have a sticker please? It's a fun combination.

But, I did talk to a couple! I spoke to Fins Attached, an organisation who conduct marine research, conservation and education, and British Divers Marine Life Rescue, a volunteer group who specialise in returning beached creatures. My chat with Fins Attached was brief, but I picked up some literature for further research. BDMLR, however, introduced me to the idea of qualifying as someone who can deal with beached animals. But you are a landlocked mermaid, I hear you cry! Their volunteers are based throughout the UK and I do live near rivers. Admittedly, the creature would have be waaaayyy off track to get beached in Shrewsbury, but it a possibility. And a great opportunity. One I will look into further.

From Project Aware

THE HOLIDAYS

So, while we weren't actively looking for holidays we did talk to a couple destinations. Ok, so she had mints on her table... I wasn't brave enough to take one! But I did find out about diving in Malta. I already knew Malta was a good diving spot; my older sister got married on the island last year and my stepdad was keen to go diving. The lady was very helpful and told us about the flexibility of the holiday length and trips to be taken. She also showed us pictures. There are some glorious underwater caves to explore around Malta. It has been added to the diving bucket list. I'd been looking for an excuse to go back.

The other destination which caught our eye was Madiera, off the coast of Portugal. Ok, so the guy started talking to us as we passed, but I am glad he did. Madiera is a little island with lots of diving spots surrounding it, and even more to do on the island. Hiking, adventures, stand up paddle boards... It seems like our kind of place. 

A lot of the holidays on offer are liveaboards. You basically fly to a country, go straight to the boat and sail out to sea. You get waited on hand and foot, do up to four dives a day, and spend a lot of time relaxing aboard this little slice of luxury. The whole thing seems... unappealing to me. Seasickness aside, it seems very intense. They are expensive trips and to get your money's worth I feel you'd have to do all the dives offered each day. Four dives a day, for seven days; I can barely do one in a weekend! And it all seems a little claustrophobic and relies on you being good with people. You're onboard with the same twenty odd people for a week - you have got to hope you get along!

I much prefer the idea of going to a destination where I can dive, but also do other things. My partner and I don't do relaxing holidays - the last trip we took was walking across the Cotswolds just before the Beast from the East hit. Yeah, we're those people. So I'd like the option of going diving one day, then hiking the next, then a little more diving, then my one designated relax day. Flexibility, that's what I like. One day, I will do a liveaboard and I'm sure I'll enjoy it. But right now, if I'm going to sink big bucks on a holiday it is going to be an adventure!

Indonesia stall with a PLUSHIE NUDIBRANCH.

All in all, I had a great time at the Dive Show 2018 and I look forward to going next year. And if I get antsy about it next year, my partner can show me this post to remind me how good a time we had. And maybe next year I'll be brave enough to talk to more people.

I went for the most aquatic tee I could find.